box score
audio - coach sydney johnson
audio - noah savage : audio - lincoln gunn
The Princeton coaches and players felt like one got away in Piscataway.
"We thought we were going to win the game all the way up until there were [a few seconds] left on the clock" said senior co-captain Noah Savage. "We planned to win this game."
Jaron Griffin's two free throws with a minute remaining in regulation broke a 48-48 tie between the visiting Tigers and Rutgers on Saturday afternoon, as the Scarlet Knights held off Princeton 54-50.
Lincoln Gunn had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes for the Tigers. He was the only Princeton player in double figures.
When asked about his all-around performance following the Tigers' fifth straight loss, Gunn just shrugged his shoulders. "Coach Johnson has given me the freedom to do whatever I want" Gunn said softly. "[Today was] nothing more spectacular than any day out there or in practice."
Gunn's coach was a bit more emotional. "Lincoln is really having fun and it is fun as a coach to see your guys embrace getting after it and being in the moment" said first year head man Sydney Johnson.
The Scarlet Knights' JR Inman was the game's high scorer, tallying 16 along with eight rebounds.
Corey Chandler opened the day's scoring for Rutgers, shooting a three pointer on the left baseline over Kyle Koncz.
The Tigers' sophomore backcourt accounted for Princeton's next three baskets. Lincoln Gunn's jumper from the left side of free throw line made the score 3-2. After Hamady Ndiaye scored inside, classmate Marcus Schroeder answered from inside the paint and when Rutgers didn't help on defense in the lane, Schroeder drove past his man for a layup. The Tigers two point lead did not last long. Inman put back an errant Ndiaye look for two.
Gunn drove the lane and passed to the corner directly in front of the Rutgers bench. Kyle Koncz was waiting there to size up a pure three point shot that made the score 9-7 Tigers.
Inman was hacked by Zach Finley while going up strong for his shot inside. It was Finley's second personal foul and the center from South Dakota sat on the bench for the last 14:21 of the first half.
Pawel Buczak came off the bench to replace Finley. Buczak and Alex Okafor played center for the Tigers as Princeton was able to maintain and build their lead with their leading scorer riding the pine.
Some savvy inside/out passing ended on a rotation to Matt Sargeant from Gunn in the same spot where Koncz had connected two minutes previous.
Nick Lake came off the bench to separate a 12-12 deadlock with 11:06 left before the break. Buczak, who did not look as terrified as he had versus Seton Hall, swung the ball to Lake, who showed no hesitation before going up with his first career three point shot.
Mike Coburn's first collegiate field goal set the scoreboard at 23-22 Tigers with 6:36 on the clock. A great diagonal pass by Noah Savage to Gunn right under the basket pushed Princeton up three. Savage hit off the elbow to send the Tigers up five and the lead reached eight after a Gunn trifecta. Rutgers scored the final three points of the half on a Ndiaye free throw and a Griffin leaner in the lane. Koncz was short from outside the arc as time ran out.
Princeton was 12-26 from the field in the first half (46.8%). Rutgers shot 9-22 (40.9%). The Tigers dished out seven assists and committed four turnovers. Rutgers had a 4:5 ratio.
Rutgers coach Fred Hill said that his team's goal coming into Saturday's game was to not give up Princeton three point shots. If Princeton was going to beat Rutgers, it was going to be through one-on-one play inside. The Tigers were 6-10 from deep before intermission. Hill said after the game that the Scarlet Knights did not do anything differently after halftime but focus on their scouting report. Princeton shot 3-12 from behind the arc after the break.
Zach Finley was back on the court to start the second half, but committed his third personal foul on Rutgers' first possession once play resumed, resulting in an Inman free throw. The Scarlet Knights would tie the score at the 16:17 mark on another Inman free throw after he had been fouled by Koncz while banking in a scoop shot.
On the Princeton end, a pass by Finley looked destined to be a turnover. The a deflection came into Lincoln Gunn's hand and Gunn showed no conscience tossing in a three point shot. Earl Pettis tied the score at 34-all on a three pointer of his own while falling down in front of his team's bench.
Rutgers took its first lead since they were ahead 10-9 when Inman dunked with two hands and converted the free throw that came along with Noah Savage's hack. A long Griffin jumper made it a three point game, but Gunn evened the score on a deep three using a hand-off screen by Savage.
At the other end of the court Griffin broke the game's sixth tie with a three point shot of his own.
The Tigers were down 48-43 with 5:50 left to play. Marcus Schroeder drove down the left side of the lane and turned 180 degrees to face center court, passing up top to Kyle Koncz in rhythm for a three point shot. Schroeder dove on the floor to grab a loose ball and call time out, Princeton retaining possession. Matt Sargeant threw a backdoor pass to Schroeder out of a "chin" set right under the Tigers' basket to knot the score with 3:34 to go.
Princeton had two chances to take the lead. Savage got free at the top of the key for an open three point shot that just caught the front rim. Savage said following the game that he thought for sure the shot was good when it left his hand. Following a Corey Chandler turnover, the ball was deflected into the arms of Schroeder, Schroeder attempted a pull-up three point shot that was also short.
Zach Finley was whistled for undercutting Griffin on the scramble for the rebound as it bounced on the floor following Schroeder's miss and the two teams headed to the other end of the court for a one-and-one opportunity. Griffin converted both chances to give Rutgers their final lead of the day.
Princeton had the ball and a chance to tie with under fifty seconds left. Noah Savage had the ball tipped out of his hands and the ball rolled towards the sidelines. As Rutgers raced to control the carom before it went out-of-bounds, the final deflection came off of the Tigers' Marcus Schroeder.
In the last five minutes of play, Coach Johnson tinkered with a "small" lineup on offense. Finley would come in on defense, with Matt Sargeant replacing him when the Tigers had the ball. Kyle Koncz would move into the center position offensively.
When asked about this decision, Johnson said he felt the team was thinking too much about getting the ball to their big man with Finley on the floor. "I don't want our guys to ever lose the feel of 'just playing ball.'" Johnson commented. "I just put a group out there that was loose and making plays."
This tactic kept Finley on the bench with :23.8 left and Corey Chandler at the free throw line. Chander missed both his attempts, but a long rebound deflected to JR Inman, who passed off to Chandler. It was an offensive rebound that Gunn described as "a shot to the heart." Sargeant fouled Chandler and this time both free throws were true.
Kyle Koncz put back a high bounce on Gunn's missed three with six seconds left, but Anthony Farmer iced the game with two free throws after being fouled by Savage on the inbounds pass.
The Tigers voiced disappointment after the game, but their confidence did not appear to be dampened by this close loss. "I think we attacked this game. We weren't scared. We weren't thinking about Seton Hall" said Coach Johnson. "We were competing tonight."
"This is college basketball This isn't rec league. We're not going to go have pizza after this" said Savage.
"We want to win the game."
Notes:
-Rutgers defeated Princeton for the eighth time in the schools' last nine meetings.
-The Scarlet Knights went to the free throw line 19 times, converting 13 of these chances. Princeton had just two attempts, both by Marcus Schroeder. One was good.
-Finley was 1-6 from the field in 15 minutes of play.
-Michael Strittmatter and Dan Mavraides each did not suit up for the Tigers.
